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No strong language.
Violence
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No violence.
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No deaths.
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Episode 15 - Retrograde

October 10th, 2026

Lowe lay alone on the couch, edges of the panel darkened. Reed, standing in the hallway, joins Lowe, sweating and looking tense overall. Lowe looks vacantly out toward the side, arm crossed over torso.
Reed, having gotten up, turns on their TV, returning to the couch and offering Lowe a game controller. With a perturbed look, Lowe rolls his eyes. Reed breaks the silent air, asking, 'Okay, what's up?'
'That's a, uh, loaded question, I think,' answers Lowe. 'Everything's loaded right now, isn't it?' 'I guess...' 'We gotta move forward to go backwards, ya know???' Lowe's antennae drip. 'Yeah.' Removing his jacket, Lowe thinks, 'Can't tell him how I really feel. That's for a girl, boyfriend-- a SHRINK! Not a guy friend! I mean. I assume we're friends?'
Lowe grins at himself awkwardly. 'What am I talking about?' he thinks. 'We live together!' He enters his trashed room. 'Note to self... clean my room... ... I think that every day...' He changes into a green jacket with a furry collar. 'Small around my wrists... It's fine'
Lowe returns to Reed. 'So, what's the plan?' 'Uh...' he starts. The art style shifts to colorful paper cutouts. 'Go... bring Ozanne... just Ozanne...' Imagined Ozanne frowns deeply with the absence of Janie.
[AND THEN-] Lowe and Ozanne sit together at a diner. 'So...' he attempts to stir up conversation. Ozanne is silent for a moment, holding their head with a disconcerted look.
Lowe teases them, 'What're you, chicken?' 'I'm sparrow' 'Exclusively?' Ozanne's plumicorns and wing feathers flare up defensively. 'Says the shrimp!' 'Ah?' Ozanne mellows out and meows.
The two giggle at their antics, the scene becoming a bit more vibrant. 'So, um, what's this about?' Ozanne asks, blushing placidly. 'Oh, yeah! So, the other day.' Ozanne's heart immediately drops, a foreboding feeling besetting them. 'I mean, I just thought we could follow up,' Lowe continues.
Sketches in white of Ozanne's feelings regarding her encounter with Ruth. 'I DID hear you talked to Ruth,' Lowe says, completely greyed out. 'How'd that go?'
Ozanne is speechless. Lowe taps his finger, growing a bit nervous and beginning to sweat. 'If you'd rather, we can uh, talk about it later?' 'I GOTTA GO!!!' Ozanne blurts out, dashing out of the diner with a squawk.
Afterwards, the two text eachother. '[i can] come', Ozanne says. 'ok / just you tho' 'squawk? / oka' '?' 'i want to tell you / but i can't.' Lowe looks worried, Ozanne shaken. 'wdym / whats up with ruth' '🙊🙂‍↔️🙂‍↔️' Lowe texts Reed after this interaction. 'yo / reed / not trying to be rude but this like / is not going anywhere / if you want to figure this out i think we need to bring it to your sister'

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